As time goes by
by TwilightPony21
Summary: Fifteen drabble scenes for Harm and Mac throughout the course of JAG.
1. Permission

**Hi! I started writing the other day, and whatever I had wanted to write, this wasn't it! Somehow this story came out of nowhere, but it's been a lot of fun to remember some of the old JAG episodes. I hope you like it, and thanks for reading!**

* * *

 **Permission**

Major Sarah MacKenzie hurries out of her office to the car awaiting her downstairs. There's a Marine colonel holding the Declaration of Independence hostage, and she doesn't want to miss any part of the investigation.

She also doesn't want to keep the admiral waiting. She knows that when Admiral A.J. Chegwidden wants you on his staff, you don't say no. Apparently one of his Navy lawyers needs a new partner for this case.

 _A squid?_ Some of her fellow Marines give her a look of disgust. Others give her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and several don't even say anything at all.

 _What kind of squid do you find in a rose garden anyway?_

She soon learns that he's the kind of squid who follows her into the desert without question and who hangs off a helo without fear.

 _Permission granted_.

To come aboard the helo and to come aboard her life.


	2. Forgive

**Forgive**

She's stunned when he drops the prosecution's charges. At first, she can't help but feel a little smug, especially when she overhears the admiral bellowing about the new hole in the roof.

She's a bit suspicious, though, because her cocky Navy partner wouldn't concede a case without a very good reason.

 _You sandbagged me with that ricocheting bullets line._

She had been furious with him.

 _So we could get to the truth_.

She's in the middle of filing away her case notes when her hands pause in midair. Realization dawns on her face, and she lets out a sharp sigh. He had dropped the case to protect the truth. She can't stay mad at him, and suddenly she can't help but feel a little guilty.

She brings him a salad as a peace offering, and she picks up a burger for herself along the way. He grabs a couple of soft drinks out of the fridge, and they spread their meal out on his bed because there's nowhere else to sit in his unfinished apartment.

He smells like sweat, sawdust, and power tools, and even the grease and French fries can't drown out his scent. It makes her feel lightheaded but comfortable in his bedroom. She decides that she forgives him for firing a machine gun through the courtroom ceiling. And maybe for the sandbagging, too.

 _Out-lawyering_ , he corrects.

She throws a French fry at him.


	3. Russia

**Russia**

He's always been preoccupied with his father's disappearance, but ever since the secret list of American POWs sent to Russia slipped out of his hands, his eyes have taken on a determination that she's never seen before.

He can't stop studying the photos.

He can't stop listening to the tapes of his father's voice.

He insists that he sees his father's ghost.

Privately, she wonders if he hit his head more times than she knows about. She thinks he's starting to border on desperation, but she's also starting to wonder if she's just as crazy as he is.

She stays up all night with him to translate a Russian dossier.

They trace his father's movements from Vietnam to Prague to Moscow, and as the morning light streams through the windows, she groans with exhaustion and rubs the back of her neck.

Groggily, she wanders into the kitchen to put the coffee on.

She doesn't realize he's following until she feels his hands on her shoulders, her eyes falling closed and a soft sigh escaping her lips as his fingers release the tension in her muscles.

 _Thank you_ , he whispers.

She's struck by how intimate this would be under different circumstances, making coffee for a man after spending the night with him. But she doesn't think it qualifies when the night is spent on the couch hunched over a Russian dictionary.

Whatever the circumstances, their night together has only intensified his search.

He wants to go to Russia. He's obsessed, and she can't stop him.

She tries to convince herself that's why she's going with him.


	4. Heartbreak

**Heartbreak**

 _This is where the three of them came to picnic the day Tete was killed._

She's translating for him as they trek through the forest, his attention never leaving the native woman who knows the fate of his father.

When the story ends, he can't find his voice, and the kind old woman presses a kiss to the cheek of the mirror image of the brave American man who had saved her life so long ago.

She doesn't need to translate now, as their grief is the same in either language.

 _Good-bye, Dad._

He sinks to the ground with a heavy sigh, his head bowed in sadness, and she wraps her arms around him, her head settling against his shoulder.

They stay like that for a long time. The sun starts to dip below the horizon, but she doesn't want to leave him alone.

 _You've come with me farther than anyone I know._

Sitting next to him on the forest floor, she feels like she's followed him to the end of the earth, and she would do it all over again.

She feels his shoulders shake, and gently she wipes the tears from his cheeks the same way he's always done for her.

And as twilight falls over the Russian taiga, her heart breaks for him.


	5. Green

**Green**

It always makes her sick, and she doesn't have the heart to tell him that she would rather stay earthbound this time.

He insists that recreating the flight is the only way to prove their defense, and she agrees for the sake of the case but also because she secretly loves the way his eyes light up every time he steps into a cockpit.

 _Suck it up, Marine_ , he tells her.

And she will. Because if she's going to turn green in the backseat of a Tomcat, there's no one else she would rather have as her pilot.


	6. Freeze

**Sorry that last drabble was extra short. I figured it could be any scene where Mac still went flying with Harm even though it makes her sick. This one is a more specific scene. Hope you like the drabbles so far - thanks for reading!**

* * *

 **Freeze**

She's supposed to be watching his six while there's a crazed killer on the loose. But she's freezing and she pulls the heavy blanket draped over his couch around herself. She can't sleep and she shuffles over to the window, bumping against something in the dark. She can hear him startle at the noise.

She tells him that she's cold and he should turn up the heat. Rubbing a hand over his sleepy eyes, he stumbles out of bed and turns up the thermostat. He meets her at the window, her mouth turning dry as the moonlight shines on his bare chest.

Wordlessly, he grasps her wrist and leads her back to his bedroom. She slips beneath the covers and he slides in beside her. The heat radiating from his body warms her instantly and she drifts off to sleep in his arms.


	7. Knife

**Knife**

She's still reeling from her father's death. He sends beautiful flowers and says he would have come to the funeral, but she refuses to drag him into the affairs of her dysfunctional family.

He offers to make dinner that night, and she thinks that maybe he shouldn't cook for her so much because she doesn't deserve it.

She's still grateful when he talks her into it because she's barely stepped into his apartment when her mouth starts watering from the spicy smell on the stove. She asks if she can help, but he waves her off, saying that it's just about ready.

But she can't stop fidgeting in his kitchen, and finally he lets her chop vegetables for a salad.

The knife slices through the food with ease, and suddenly she's reminded of how easily her father's paring knife could have sliced her mother's throat. It still hurts to remember the night such an abusive, alcoholic man drove her mother away. Blinking back tears, her own knife strokes become faster, stronger, angrier.

He asks if she's okay.

 _Back off, Harm_ , she snaps.

He does, because a Marine wielding a knife can be unpredictable, especially when said Marine is his partner.

Instead he checks the pot simmering on the stove, and he lets her chop the vegetables in silence until the tears begin to fall.

Cautiously, he steps up behind her, pressing his chest against her back, his body heat warm and comforting. His arms come around her, and he lays his palms on top of her hands, steadying the knife.

And slowly, they chop the vegetables together.


	8. Angels

**Angels**

She's done him a huge favor, finding that old court file and giving him a defense angle, and he promises to make it worth her while. She's not entirely sure what that means, but his smile makes her weak in the knees, and she accepts the invitation into his apartment.

The bottle of _acqua minerale_ is a pretty midnight blue, and he pours it into a couple of wine glasses and offers a toast.

 _May angels appear at your doorstep_ , she tells him in the Gypsy dialect.

He thinks that maybe his angel has already crossed the threshold tonight.

The smooth liquid moistens her lips, and he can't tear his gaze from them. Something inside him snaps, and she lets out a startled squeak as he crushes his lips to hers.

His kisses are hot and desperate, and she wants this just as much as he does. Her hands slide over his shoulders and wrap around his neck. He threads one hand through her hair and the other around her waist to pull her hips flush against his. She hears him growl low in his throat and she thinks this is worth more than everything.

And then there's a knock at the door, and once again, duty calls.


	9. Sister

**Sister**

She never had a sister when she was growing up, and she's glad that she has Chloe to fill that role in her life now.

She loves their slumber parties, painting their nails in bright, outrageous colors, having pillow fights, and curling up on the couch for their girl talks.

 _Can a best friend become your boyfriend?_ , Chloe asks one night.

 _Sometimes, if you're lucky_.

She laughs as Chloe excitedly describes one of her friends at school. Her little sister calls him 'bodacious' and can't say enough about how he lets her keep her books in his locker.

Suddenly she feels like a teenager again – a sober one – sharing secrets with her sister about the boys at school. She wonders what high school would have been like if there had been a dark-haired boy destined for the Naval Academy with dreams of becoming an aviator. And she wonders if he would have shared his locker with her.


	10. Brother

**Brother**

She finds him at the Wall because she knows he won't be anywhere else.

The younger son of Harmon Rabb, Sr. had to make an emergency helo landing in Chechnya and is still MIA. She knows what those three letters mean, and she knows what his big brother is about to do.

She asks what his mother would do if she lost her son. He counters by saying that his father wouldn't want him to lose his other son.

She asks what Renee would do if she lost him. He says this has nothing to do with Renee.

 _I'm resigning my commission. I'm going to go find my brother._

She's seen that look in his eyes before. In a quiet voice, she tells him that she can't go to Russia with him this time.

 _I'm not asking you to._

She recoils slightly. She had automatically assumed that he would want her to accompany him, a speaker who knows the language, a partner who can take care of herself, and a friend who can rein him in when his emotion takes over.

Maybe she has no right to assume. Maybe that isn't her role in his life anymore.

With nothing left to say, he turns his back on her and walks away into the night. She's still rooted in place next to the Wall.

 _And what am I supposed to do if I lose you?_


	11. Dream

**Dream**

He always looks handsome in his flight suit, striding across the carrier deck as if he does this every day. The crew scurries purposefully behind him, checking his Tomcat one last time and making sure everything is ready for takeoff.

His RIO is already climbing into the backseat, but there's one more thing he has to do first. Some of the crew exchange knowing smiles when he stops in front of the Marine colonel standing off to the side.

 _Don't wait up,_ he says with a grin.

She hooks an arm around his neck and pulls him down to her. Their lips are just a breath away.

 _Kiss me_ , she whispers.

 _Well, all right, love._

She opens her eyes in confusion upon hearing the Australian accent. Mic hovers above her, poised for his kiss, and she yelps in surprise.

 _What's wrong, love?_

It's not until then that she realizes she's on her couch and not a carrier deck. But she doesn't tell him that. She apologizes and admits that she was just dreaming.

 _About me?_ Mic's smile is suggestive.

 _Yes_ , she lies.


	12. Lifeline

**Lifeline**

His chute lines tangle as he plunges into the frigid ocean. He struggles to break free, kicking hard against the current that wants to suck him under. He thinks he's screaming, but he can't hear himself over the thunder, lightning, wind, and crashing waves.

 _You don't need that lifeline. Let it go before it becomes a noose._

The lines are strangling him, and he vaguely thinks that's ironic as he slices them with the knife he keeps holstered to his leg. He doesn't make it to the surface before the lines tangle around his foot again, yanking him back underwater. He's desperately sawing at them, silently cursing the dull blade of his knife.

They finally break just as his lungs are about to burst, and he scrambles to the surface, gasping for air but inhaling the foamy ocean spray instead.

He's treading water with all the strength he has left, but the cold waves crash against him, and he's already getting weary. He doesn't know how long he can survive out here.

 _I promise you, no matter what happens, you won't lose me._

All he can think about is losing her now.

Another violent wave hurls him further away from his raft, salt water spilling into his eyes and his mouth, blinding him and filling his lungs, making it impossible to breathe. There's nothing to grab onto in the open sea, and he realizes that she's his lifeline. She's the one who has taken a hold of his heart and won't let go.

So that's what he's going to hold onto as he drifts away in the storm-tossed Atlantic.


	13. Sunrise

**Sunrise**

They start running together again after the Jag-a-thon. Early mornings are cool and crisp this time of year, and the ten kilometer trail is a perfect route to start their day.

He usually comes dressed in his U.S. Navy sweats, and she in turn digs out her USMC workout clothes. She knows it's an unspoken challenge between the two of them, and she doesn't admit to him that it takes extra effort on her part to keep up with his longer legs.

 _Anything the Navy can do, the Marines can do better_ , she thinks stubbornly.

When they finish their daily runs, always at the same time and in sync with each other, sunrise is just peeking over the horizon. He usually brings her a towel and a water bottle, and they part ways until it's time to go into the office. She likes how they've fallen back into this easy routine.

But one morning, when they're racing for the agreed upon finish line, he falls back and lets her win. Surprised but pleased, she turns around to taunt him about the superiority of Marines and how the Navy is getting too old for this.

The words are on the tip of her tongue, but she can't speak when she sees the look in his eyes.

 _I just wanted to see how beautiful you look against the sunrise_ , he says.

Damn that Navy.


	14. Failure

**Failure**

She's never been able to give men what they want.

From the very beginning, her father had never wanted a daughter like her, and in the end, she left him.

Eddie had wanted a drinking buddy, and in the end, she killed him.

Chris had wanted his wife back. And money. She wasn't sure which one had actually been more important to him, but in the end, she refused both.

Dalton had wanted a beautiful woman to adorn his arm. He had showered her with pretty pearls and fancy dinners and affectionate words. But in the end, his world of riches suffocated her.

Mic had simply wanted her to love him with all her heart. And in the end, she couldn't even do that.

 _What kind of a woman fails every man she's ever known?_

She takes a deep breath as she prepares to admit to her best friend that she can't ever give him the child he wants. There will never be a son with her looks and his brains or a daughter with his looks and her brains. It's impossible now, and in the end, she's going to break her part of the promise.

The lump in her throat threatens to spill into tears, and she closes her eyes, bracing for the rejection.

She jumps when she feels his warm hand take hers, and when she opens her eyes, he's still there.


	15. Love

**Hi! This is the last drabble, but I've been working on a new JAG story that I hope to start posting later this weekend. Hope you liked all the drabbles and thanks again for reading!**

* * *

 **Love**

He's sound asleep beside her. Tomorrow he'll become Force Judge Advocate of Naval Forces Europe, but right now, he's simply her pillow.

In the dark, she can just make out the silhouette of cardboard boxes stacked against the bedroom wall. His apartment is almost entirely packed now, and yet she can't help but feel as if she's finally found the place she belongs.

How many times had he tried to show her that? From the courtrooms to the fighter planes to the carriers to the submarines, from Russia to Japan to Australia to South America, it had always been fate that she would end up here with him.

Her body is completely satiated from their lovemaking, and the sheets slide across her bare skin as his arms unconsciously tighten around her. She threads her fingers through his and kisses his palm.

Her internal clock tells her that it's nowhere near time to wake up yet, so she snuggles closer to him, presses a soft kiss to his temple, and murmurs in his ear.

 _I love you._


End file.
